It’s been almost a year since the UCLA Bruins fell to LSU in the 2024 Women’s NCAA Tournament Round of 16. The Bruins held a three-point lead over the Tigers with less than two minutes to go, but the 2023 champions came roaring back to win by nine.
That loss in Albany in no small way fueled coach Cori Close and her team.
“I think the bottom line is when you have regret and you have pain, which is we have that from last season, that it spurs you on,” Close told CBS Sports on a phone call Wednesday.
Close, who took responsibility for the LSU loss, described the months following UCLA’s Sweet 16 exit as a soul-searching expedition. Once the wounds from the loss healed enough to reflect, the Bruins committed to getting better and doing simple things with elite consistency.
Junior center Lauren Betts has embodied this approach.
“We watched a lot of film from last season, which hasn’t been easy,” Betts told CBS Sports at Big Ten Media Day in October. “It’s definitely holding us accountable to set this new kind of standard for our team.”
Betts leads the Bruins in seven statistical categories this season, including points per game, minutes per game and field goal percentage. She’s also been named a
